Just talked to the guy who runs Value Electronics and he said that he got word this morning that the 2A wouldn't ship until the week of Dec. 11th.

Is this the case with the XA2 as well?

I think that one is still running on schedule.

The XA2 was always scheduled for a December release.

I received two more HD DVDs today, rubbing salt into my wounds since I cannot play them yet. I just hope I get the HD A2 by Christmas.

Wow, Toshiba is dropping the ball here. After all that hard work wooing many away from BD they go and make promises and do not keep them. I just want more firmware updates for the A1.

Aren't we already talking about this in the HD-DVD thread?

Wow. This is very surprising. Has anyone seen any of the A1's in stores recently. I know you can still find them online if you know where to look, but with the holiday season a week away this is going to hurt. The average consumer wants to walk into Best Buy and buy whatever it is they are looking for. Wasn't the A2 supposed to be out in October? We all know Sony and Pioneers issues with delivering their players, but at least BD will have the Sharp, Sammy, and Panasonic on store shelves all of November and December.

You might be, but I would have never seen this without a dedicated thread. All of Sony's delays have been posted in their own threads as well.

My local BB still has three A1s on the shelf as well as three Samsung Blu-Ray players right next to it.

Finally got Robert's e-mail. Not only am I going to turn down the "offers", but I'm probably going to cancel my order. I found it condescending that he considers "hey, sorry for the delay, but if you buy more shit from me I'll make it up to you" a "silver lining". Not for me thanks. I'd prefer to wait this out a little more.

Can a mod put the new release date in the thread title? I guess I get a little spooked every time I see this thread and think that it's been delayed again....again....again.

I had canceled my A2 order a few weeks ago but still got this email. not impressed at all.

It's not like the delay is his fault. He doesn't have to offer you anything, frankly.

Additionally, what he's offering is a pretty good deal. I think the intention was "If you were dead planning on playing HD DVDs this week, then here is an alternative." It isn't the dealer's fault, and to blame him is silly.

I called VE and they sent me the email. I will keep my order, wait for the A2, and hope it is actually released in December.

Any word on the A2? Is it still coming out on the 11th?

I've got mine pre-ordered and everything I've heard still has it slated for a week of December 11th shipment to distributors. So it could be any time that week when they receive them and then they have to ship them to us. Hopefully Crutchfield can turn my order around quickly...these HD-DVDs I've bought are just calling out to be watched.

I'm on the fence and seriously considering the A2 for purchase so I hope this gets to the store shelves by next week.
I plan on having the player output the video to 720p (the native resolution of my HDTV). Does anyone here with the A1 do the same? I was wondering on the PQ versus outputting in 1080i.

I think most people with 720 displays set the player to 1080. Even though the TV is downscaling it, you're still sending more information to it from the source.

Now I'm beginning to rethink the purchase of the Toshiba HDA2 as it no longer has 5.1 analog out (which the HDA1 has). I've got an older receiver (Denon AVR 5700) and it doesn't have hdmi ports, however, it's got 7.1 input.

Is it true then that I will not have DD+, DD True HD, and DTS Master audio?

If so, I might as well get an Xbox 360 add-on HD-DVD player.

I received an email from VE stating that they expect to complete all advance-order shipments as scheduled by the middle of next week.

Yes, that is the case; however, the audio will be re-mixed to DTS, but still at a much higher quality than with standard DVD. For the brief time I was running the A1 off of coaxial, there really wasn't a drop dead difference between that and DD+/TrueHD/DTS-MA, and I have a pretty good ear for that stuff.

Vipper II,
Thanks for the info. I'm going through the thread at AVS forum where the topic is G2 HD-A2 and HD-XA2 and I've gathered as much as you've indicated. It seems the A2 is Toshiba's entry level unit for those getting into HD-DVD and that they sold the A1 at a loss to get the format into more households.

Once I'm done with that thread (~20 pages still to read ) I'll be reading the feedback on the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on. From what I've gathered about this is that the audio level is low and most have been compensating by turning up the volume as well as some audio-sync issues which would drive me crazy.

Edited to add:
Some users are reporting that bass levels on the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on are low. That's a huge negative for me.

SHIPPING CONFIRMATIONS HAVE GONE OUT FOR A2's! THEY'VE BEGUN SHIPPING!